Roar! Save Your Pride
by PAiNTBYNUMBER
Summary: When the world knows she's Hannah, Miley runs to a small college in Florida to get away from it all, only to find out that running doesn't solve anything. [MileyxJake?] [LillyxOliver]
1. Welcome College Frosh

**Title**: Roar! Save Your Pride  
**Summary**: When the world knows she's Hannah, Miley runs to a small college in Florida to get away from it all, only to find out that running doesn't solve anything.  
**Rating**: T  
**Word Count**: 2531

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Hannah Montana, Flagler college, or the lyrics at the end of the Chapter. They belong to Secondhand Serenade. Please don't sue me!

**Chapter**: 1  
**Title**: Freshmen Orientation

**A/N**: This is a REPOST of a story I wrote last February. My penname used to be ZOMBiiSLAYERx3, but I've switched account. So, I did NOT steal this story… Thanks for listening. R&R and I'll return the favor!

* * *

"Daddy, I'm telling you I'm fine! Yeah, my roommate's helping me." Miley Stewart shifted her cell phone so that it wouldn't fall from the place in between her ear and her shoulder where she'd wedged it. With a heavy box in her hand, she placed it against the wall next to her and pushed it up with her knee. Sighing into the phone she continued to listen to her father. "No Dad, no one's bothered me. One girl really freaked out when she saw me, but other than that I've just gotten a few greetings. Seriously Dad, stop asking me that because the answer hasn't changed since you last asked me. Okay, okay. I love you too! If I have any problems… Yes I will call you. Bye." 

"You're dad called again?" a girl asked. Miley rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Yes! I don't think he believes me when I say I'm fine!"

The girl's hazel eyes sparkled and she shook her head. Without even asking she took the box from Miley and placed it on her shoulder. She motioned to the pile of boxes that Miley still had to take up to their dorm. "Honestly Stewart, I don't think that you brought enough stuff with you. I know that you're used to being Hannah Montana, but you're not going to have this much closet space!"

"Sorry Rhea," Miley shrugged with a grin. "A girl just can't help bringing her entire closet with her. It's a girl thing, you should know."

They grabbed the elevator. Rhea held the elevator doors open while Miley kicked and pushed boxes into the it. She tripped coming into the elevator and landed among the scattered boxes. Rhea snorted and burst out laughing. Miley had to admit that sometimes her laugh was annoying, but that was something that made her unique; annoying or not.

When they reached their floor, the second one, Miley held the doors open and Rhea placed all the boxes into the hallway. The each took turns carrying boxes to their dorm room. The room itself was a bright blue with two box-spring beds, two closets, two desks, a mini-fridge (provided by Rhea herself), and a lot of shelves (provided by both Miley and Rhea).

"So…" Rhea started as soon as all the boxes were stacked on Miley's side of the room. "Want to unpack? Or… we could totally go down and explore for a while…"

Miley looked at the pile of boxes in her room and then out the window into the courtyard.

"Explore, explore, explore! Onward! Let's be the next Lewis and Clark!" she exclaimed and was already half out the door by the time Rhea was off the bed. There was no way Miley was unpacking boxes. They took the stairs down to the main floor and wandered out into the sweet Florida sunshine.

"Miley Stewart! You're our lucky winner! You've won a full-ride scholarship to Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida!" Rhea said like she did every time they walked outside, but this time it felt different. Now that the boxes were in the room and the room keys were in her purse. Now that she had her schedule and that she knew where her classes were. Now that she was actually here, this all felt oh, so weird. It felt oh, so real.

It was safe to say that she wasn't in Malibu anymore. Miley sniffed the air and scrunched her nose in disgust. Ugh, sulfur. The water in St. Augustine, always smelled disgustingly of sulfur. Miley had long forgotten why, but she hoped that her senses would adjust soon like everyone had told her they had a long time ago.

"Oh, oh, I know that look! Don't think about it, that's one of the reason's why you can still smell it," she said.

"How do you do that?"

She shook her head, her white-blonde hair getting caught in her lip-gloss. "I'm telling you I'm Pathetelelic!"

"You mean telepathic?"

"That's what I said."

Miley shook her head and the girls walked out of the courtyard and onto the streets of St. Augustine. The stood on the sidewalk for a while debating on what they should do. Miley looked at her watch to catch the time and both girls realized that they hadn't eaten lunch yet. Rhea said that she knew this amazing Cuban restaurant. Miley wasn't big on Cuban food, but she went anyway. They were waiting for a table when a boy came up and nearly attacked Rhea.

"RA--" she started to scream, but her attacker placed his hand over her mouth.

"My God Rhea, chill out. I'm not going to rape you. It's only me; the one, the only, me. Long time no see girlie, where were you hiding all summer?" Rhea laughed when she turned around to see who it was. She hugged the boy with dark black hair and pale-olive skin.

"I spent my summer in Malibu with Miley," she told him, motioning to me. "She's my best friend from Tennessee."

He gave her a silly look. "Malibu is not in Tennessee, Rhea-Bear."

"Okay, well we used to live in Tennessee, but then she moved to Malibu and I moved to Jacksonville," she said sticking her tongue out when she was finished. "By the way, this is Miley."

"Yeah, Hannah Montana," he said. Miley rolled my eyes and nodded. He stuck his hand out and she shook it. "I'm Alexander Gilmore, but you can call me Zane."

"My name is Destiny Stewart, not Hannah Montana. However, you can call me Miley and only Miley," she said with a wry smile. They decided to eat together and while Zane and Rhea caught up, Miley thought to herself.

So far it hadn't been bad, but it had only been a day. What hadn't been bad? Her first day out in the public as Miley Stewart and Hannah Montana. That's why Miley was here in Florida instead of at USC with Lilly and Oliver like she was supposed to be. She'd made it this far, all the way through high school and then right at the last second, it all got swept from under her.

It'd all been so sudden. Jake and she had started dating in sophomore year when Jake moved permanently to Malibu. It'd been exciting and thrilling and… she loved him. Through the middle of their senior year, they started fighting, all the time. One night they were at a premiere and the press were bugging them, telling Miley that Jake was cheating on "Hannah" with some little Malibu girl. Finally Jake just go so fed up with it that he just pulled off her wig, right there in front of everyone.

That's when Miley decided to come to St. Augustine. To attend this small college with only 2,100 students. Her best friend from her childhood was going there too. Rhea came to stay with her that summer and they packed together and planned every part of their trip so that Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart was out of the press' eye. Miley broke up with Jake, even though he apologized so often that's all that ever came out of his mouth. Lilly and Oliver had been mad when she broke the news to them, but they were over it now. Both happy and sharing a dorm at USC without her.

"Earth to Miles," Rhea was saying. Miley looked up from her Caesar salad that she'd been picking at for the last twenty minutes. I took a bit and looked up at Zane and Rhea. I smiled, saying that I was paying attention and they started talking about this art teacher they had in high school.

"Are you wigging out?" Rhea asked several minutes later as Miley had stopped paying attention again.

"What?" she asked. "Am I what?"

"Wigging out? You keep going all zone-y on us. It's very ish and sketch."

"What the hell does that mean? 'Ish' and 'Sketch?' Are you speaking a foreign language or something?" Zane asked rather confused.

"She means I'm acting weird," Miley translated. He nodded and looked at her funny. Miley smiled at him and waved. Okay, so she was acting weird… There was nothing wrong with that…

"Sometimes she gets like this," Rhea tried to explain to him. "You see, even since the world found out her secret, she's been in hiding. She's just now readjusting to the real world."

"That's one way to put it," Miley said with a roll of her eyes. She took a rather large sip of her ice tea and started to choke on it. Rhea patted her hard on the back. Miley sent Rhea a look that told her not to touch her again or she'd get her hand chopped off.

The three of us were quiet for a while, which must have been really hard for Rhea because she was a complete chatter box all the time. All at once Zane looked as though he had just remember something. "You're dating Jake Ryan right?" he asked. Miley's eyes widened and her heart started to beat faster. To save herself from throwing up she just shook her head, "no" and then looked back down at her salad. Zane continued on, "Oh well… you were dating weren't you? Of course you were, Hannake was the biggest thing since Bradgelina. Just so you know, he's in my dorm."

Miley spit ice tea across the table at him. "What?!"

"Yeah he lives with my friend Christian. Apparently they know each other from way back to diaper days. Kind of like you and Rhea," he said with a shrug as he wiped her ice tea off his shirt as best as he could. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Please tell me you're joking," Miley asked. She was standing now, Rhea pulled her back down.

"Don't you dare draw attention to yourself Miley. I don't think you need to deal with the paparazzi today. Now Zane, if you knew they weren't dating, why did you tell us that?"

"Just because he's been looking for her all day," he said with a shrug. "Is this bad?"

"Very," Rhea said and Miley put her face in her hands. She'd come to Florida to get away from him, to get away from the movie star scene. Of course, he'd follow her. Jake thought that Miley and he were going to get married. He'd apologized so many times for loosing his cool the night the world found out the truth. Miley rubbed her nose and then stood up.

"I'm going back to the dorm Rhea. I just have to be alone for a while, 'kay? Nice to meet you Zane, thanks for the tip-off," she said. She threw some cash on the table for her meal and left them sitting there. Rhea smacked Zane and explained the situation to him. When she was finished, he felt like smacking himself.

Miley rushed across St. Augustine in a hurry. She placed a baseball cap on her head and sunglasses over her eyes to divert attention from her. Without thinking, she tripped over the rather large entry step into the main hall that led to the elevator. Stumbling, she swore and promised her toe that she'd ice it when she was in the dorm.

"Miley!" She whipped around to see another person in a hat in sunglasses; Jake Miley should have realized that her disguise was the oldest one in the book. She fumbled in her purse for her keys and then frantically pushed the button for the elevator. As long as she was in the elevator she was safe. Boys weren't allowed in the girls' dorms. By the time she was in the elevator he was almost upon her. She slid down in relief as the doors closed. She rushed to her dorm and pulled out her cell phone.

"Lilly?" she asked into the phone, placing it in between her shoulder and her ear as she searched for ice in the mini-fridge's mini-freezer.

"Miley? Oh my god! How are you? I miss you so much! I've only had to share a dorm with Oliver for two days, but he's such a pig! It's so gross, he has his stuff all over the place! Nevermind me though, how is Florida? Are you sure you won't come here?"

Miley laughed. "Lilly I'm fine… or I was fine. You're never going to believe who's here… It's Jake! He's stalking me, I swear."

"No!"

"Yes! It's so terrible. I literally just had to run to the elevator from the lobby and I stubbed my big toe in the door," she said rather childishly as she placed a piece of ice on her toe. "Lilly, what am I going to do?"

They talked for a long while, until Lilly had to go to a class because her semester had already started. Miley tried to call Oliver, but he was in class and couldn't pick up. In frustration she tried Jackson, but he couldn't talk because he was having an important discussion with his girlfriend. No one was at home, her father was probably out for a 'run' and she didn't try his cell phone because she was still kind of annoyed from the one million and one phone calls this morning.

She pulled out her guitar, tuned it, and strummed idly. Finally the words came to her head and came out of her mouth;

"_And it's over, we're goners.  
It's out of our control,  
And if there one thing that I know  
It's just best to let it let it roll.  
So let's just, let it roll.  
Let's just, let it roll._

_Your hazel eyes,  
Paralyze my senses,  
Cut me down to size, defenseless,  
I'm defenseless."_

"Miley, that was beautiful," Rhea said. She and Zane were standing in the doorway, their eyes locked on Miley. Miley pointed at Zane, saying that he wasn't allowed to be up here and if the Dean found out they'd both be kicked out of school before they even got to start their classes. She looked at him and understood. "He just wanted to apologize, he had no idea what a big deal it was. Don't worry though, I filled him in for you though."

"Yeah, I'm sorry Miley, I had no idea. I guess my brain just didn't make any connections. It tends to do that," he said trying to make it sound conversational. Miley nodded in acceptance and put the guitar in the case, locking it away. She shouldn't have brought it or got it out. It was only going to cause problems. Always got her into trouble. After an awkward pause, Zane turned and snuck back downstairs and Rhea came inside.

"Miley, it'll be okay. I won't let him anywhere near you," Rhea said, hugging Miley very tightly.

"I'm not worried about him or what he does," Miley said. "I'm worried about me and what I might do."

"Like what? What might you do?"

For a moment, Miley opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Sighing, she paused before looking Rhea right in the eyes. Without thinking about it for a second longer she said, "Take him back."


	2. Yo No Speako Spanish

**Title**: Roar! Save Your Pride

**Summary**: When the world knows she's Hannah, Miley runs to a small college in Florida to get away from it all, only to find out that running doesn't solve anything.

**Rating**: T

**Warning**: Mild Language/Sexual Content

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Hannah Montana! I wish I did!

**Chapter**: 2  
**Title**: Yo No Speak-o Spanish

**Word Count**: 2060

**Total Words**: 2591 

**A/N**: Chapter 2! R&R! 

Oliver called her the next day right after her first class of the semester. Miley's head pounded with a 'first-day-of-freaking-school' headache, but she tried to ignore it. "Hey Oliver," she said with a smile, even if he couldn't see that.

"Hi Miley, so Lilly told me about you're little 'issue,'" he said. It was great to hear his voice; actually, she loved hearing it. It wasn't like she had feelings for Oliver. First, he was dating her best friend and second, she'd never be able to see him as more than a friend. Platonic was the perfect word when it came to the question of love. But he was still her best friend, she'd known him longer than she'd known Lilly and they had a sort of connection, a bond. Being 3,000 miles away sucked.

"Yeah… Mr. Superstar," Miley said.

Oliver hesitated for a minute. "You know I'm still friends with him, right?"

"Of course," Miley replied. "I wouldn't ask you to stop. Just because he did something that hurt me, doesn't mean that I want you to change your life. That's not fair to you in any sense."

"Mmhmm. You know Miles, I didn't know he was planning this. I would've stopped him, friend or not."

"I know," Miley said a bit more miserable then she meant too. Her other line started to beep through and she checked the number: Jackson. "Hey Ollie Trolley, I have to go, Jackson's trying to call through. He sounded kind of freaked out when I tried to call him last night during my own freak out session."

"Okay, later Miley."

"Bye," she said and switched lines. "He--"

"Mile, I have a massive problem," he said.

"Hello, to you too," Miley replied, changing the way that her phone was situated. "What's wrong bro?"

Jackson sighed, Miley could see him rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he was upset or nervous. "You know Courtney?"

"That girl you brought home last summer? How could I forget, she was a riot! Oh Jackson, she didn't break up with you did she?"

He sighed again. "No… She's pregnant."

"Jackson, that's great! How long have you known?"

"Last night. Mile, that's not the point. Courtney doesn't want to keep it. She says she's not ready and that she wants to finish school before having kids. Miley I want to keep the baby," he said.

"She wants to have an abortion? Did you tell her that you want to keep it?"

"I don't know how. If she really doesn't want to go through this, I can't make her keep the baby if she doesn't want too. This is her body that's going to have something grow in it, not mine. It just wouldn't be fair," he said truthfully. Miley had to give Jackson props, he wasn't being stupid and childish. He was acting and thinking for himself… if only he'd done that before he was in this situation.

"Just talk to her. This is hard, maybe she's just freaked out. Don't let her do something stupid or something that she'll regret later on," Miley told him. As an afterthought she added, "Do you want me to call her?"

"No! No, I'll call her. You're not supposed to know. I just needed to talk to someone."

"Okay Jackson… You'll call me and tell me what she said?"

Miley could hear the relief in his voice. "Yeah Mile. I'll call you."

Miley stood from the bench she'd been sitting on and walked to the Dunkin Donuts. "Rhea-la," she cooed. "I brought donuts and coffee." She stuck the steaming coffee beneath the girl's nose. Rhea inhaled deeply and smiled, opening her eyes.

"I love you Destiny Miley Hannah Stewart-Montana, marry me," she said snatching the coffee from her roommate's hand. She grabbed one of the cream-filled donuts and chomped down. Grabbing her phone off the shelf above her bed, she swore. "7 missed calls. Zane, Christian, Zane, Zane, Miley, Zane, Christian. Oh! I have 2 voicemails and 4 texts."

"I think that Zane and Christian need to talk to you," Miley said and Rhea shushed her, continuing to listen to her messages.

Rhea shook her head before saying, "They don't need to talk to me. They need to talk to you. I gave your schedule to Zane yesterday and he gave it to Christian who referenced it against Jake's. Our next class is with him."

"What?" I choked.

"Yeah. We have English with him. Speaking of which," she said rummaging through her drawers, "we are going to be late to if we don't leave within the next two seconds."

Miley grabbed her backpack and slipped her feet in black Old Navy flip-flops. Rhea threw herself into a mini-skirt, navy and white striped beater, and a navy hooded-shrug. She stole a pair of Miley's flip-flops and grabbed her messenger bag off the desk chair. Together they ran out of the dorm and down to the street. When they got into class, it was already full and the professor was about to start. They couldn't find a table together so they broke up. Miley ended up next to none other than Jake Ryan.

"I was hoping you'd sit here," he said. "I had to tell tons of girls to go away to save it for you."

"I'm sure that was absolutely terrible," Miley retorted pulling out her notebook.

"Miley, can we talk, please? Look I know that you hate me, but please just listen to me," he pleaded. Miley glared at him and them ignored him. He kept trying to talk to her through out the period and Miley would shush him. The professor would give them looks and Miley would smack Jake in the arm. Finally it just got to be too much.

"Jake if you shut up and let me have a peaceful English class I will got to lunch with you after class and let you talk all you want. Deal?" she inquired.

"Yes of course!" he replied, the happiness and the enthusiasm in his voice was highly evident. Miley rested her cheek on her hand and wondered if what she'd just done, should have been done at all. Of course it shouldn't have been done, but he was just being so annoying. She'd say anything to get him to shut up.

As soon as class was over, she and Jake ran out of the classroom. She texted Rhea telling her she wouldn't be around for a while. Jake took her to a small ice cream shop on St. George Street. "I thought you wanted to go to lunch with me?"

"Miley, it's three in the afternoon. Plus I know you'd rather have ice cream than lunch any day," he replied. "Now I know you have questions--"

Then she exploded. "Jake, what are you doing here? Why are you here?"

"Well I'm here to study Spanish and acting," he said. "I'm going to major in it. Maybe become a Spanish teacher if acting doesn't work out.

"You don't speak Spanish… or at least, you've never spoken it well," Miley retorted. She ordered Superman ice cream, vanilla ice cream with yellow, blue, and red food coloring swirled in. After Jake had ordered his own ice cream and paid they walked down St. George Street.

Finally Jake replied, "¿No sabes? Yo hablo español perfecto, mi amor." (_You don't know? I speak Spanish perfectly my love_.)

"No estoy tú amor, Señor Estupido." (_I am not your love, Mr. Stupid_.)

"Estuviste antes." (_You were before_.)

Miley looked him right in the eye. "La situación es más diferente. Las cosas son diferentes. No quiero hablar en español. Tengo una clase para lo. Yo hablo ingles." (_The situation is much different. Things are different. I don't want to talk Spanish. I have a class for it. I speak English_.)

"Alright, alright," he said his hand raised. Miley continued to lick her ice cream. "Miley, you know I'm sorry right. I really didn't mean to say it. Sometimes it was just so hard."

"I know, but it still happened and I still get swarmed by people… or I did."

Jake sighed. "Is that why you came her, to Florida…? 3,000 miles from home…?"

"Don't you think I know that I'm far away from almost everything that I've ever known…? Well except for Rhea… but still…" Miley turned away from him. "Why are you even here Jake? Wasn't ruining my life enough?" Tears started to spill from her eyes. "Isn't knowing that now I'm going to be followed around by photographers and the damn paparazzi enough for you? Do you have to stalk me too?"

"Miley… I'm not… I didn't… Please, just give me another chance. Tell me what I can do! I want to try… You don't understand…"

"I don't understand what Jake?" Miley said. Jake stayed silent. "What?"

"How much I loved you… How much I still do."

Miley shoved what was left of her ice cream in his face and stalked off. She started running once she reached the end of the street and didn't stop until she reached her dorm. Throwing herself inside, she looked for Rhea and she found her almost immediately… on the bed with Zane. They were making out.

"Okay seriously! Do you both want to be expelled on the first day college?"

"Miley what's wrong? Where the hell did you go after class? And who were you with?"

"Jake, I was with Jake. And you know what? He's just as big of a jerk as he was before--" Miley stopped herself from talking and took one second to reflect on what he was saying. Jake wasn't being a jerk. Other than that one slip up, Jake had almost never been a jerk. If anything Miley, herself, was the jerk. Miley groaned and violently threw herself down on her bed. Without a word, Zane excused himself and Rhea came to sit on her bed. "Do you like him?" Miley mumbled.

"I used to in junior and senior high. You know what? He used to be the biggest jerk, but it doesn't matter because I think I was just making out with him to see what it was like I guess. Nevermind about me though, what about you? Miley, what happened? Why was he being such a jerk?"

"Oh Rhea, he wasn't being a jerk," Miley confessed. "I think I was just so upset that I thought he was being one. I was the jerk."

"Miley that doesn't sound like you," Rhea said, scrunching her face.

"I know, but I freaked out. He was just so upset. First I started to cry and then he told me how much he loved me. How he would do anything to get me back, I just had to tell him what to do. I thought that he was going to cry. Rhea I don't know what to do…" she trailed off and looked at the ceiling. Her phone started to vibrate and she checked the number, Jackson again.

"Rhea, I have to take this it's really important," Miley said and she ran out of the dorm.

"What'd she say Jackson?"

Miley could almost hear the smile in his voice and she imagined the light in his eyes as he said, "We're gonna keep it Mile. I'm having a baby! I'm going to be a Dad."

"Jackson, that's amazing. You have no idea! Oh my God, I'm going to be an aunt!"

"Auntie Miley has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?" he asked.

"Not as nice of a ring as Daddy does," Miley chided. "Have you told Dad? Are you going to ask her to marry you?"

"No Dad doesn't know… and yeah, I'm going to. I just have to think it through… Hey, look I'm going to go call Dad, okay?"

"Yeah sure."

"Thanks Miley… Thanks a lot."

"No problem. Oh! If you guys need any help, don't be afraid to ask. Oh Jackson, I'm so happy for you…"

"Me too Mile, me too."

The moment she was off the phone, she hit her speed dial for Lilly. "Lilly I have great news for you!"

"Me too!" Lilly exclaimed.

"Jackson's girlfriend is pregnant!"

"Oliver asked me to marry him today!" Both girls screamed at the same time and in unison they continued.

"What? What did you just say?"


End file.
